Chinese dancers are adding cultural elements for local flavor
Xiao Na dances in black-andwhite hanfu clothing with long sleeves that swish to make her appear like the koi spirit that sacrifices itself for its owner in the Chinese song, Jinlichao (Missing Tale).
As she spins with swift steps and kneels with her arms outstretched, a voice sings: “The fire depicts the face and burns out the time. Don’t leave me all alone in the world, withering in the dream.”
Xiao performed the dance in the final stage of a zhaiwu competition in Zhejiang’s provincial capital, Hangzhou, recently.
While the trend originated in Japan and refers to a dance that is based on pop culture, particularly online, many zhaiwu practitioners in China are adapting it to Chinese culture.
“I’m obsessed with the combination of dynamic rhythm and ancient Chinese songs’ soothing melodies,” Xiao says.
“It’s my way to carry forward Chinese culture and show my confidence in my nation.”
Xiao says that while most dance pieces incorporate aspects of animation, comics and games culture, a growing number feature ancient Chinese elements.
The songs that mix traditional and contemporary components take inspiration from history or literature.
For instance, the lyrics of Jinlichao, which was released in 2013, were inspired by a piece of work in the style of the ancient Chinese poem.
Songs are usually in the gongdiao scale used in ancient Chinese music.
And they feature such traditional instruments as the erhu (twostringed fiddle), xiao (vertical bamboo flute), pipa (lute) and guzheng (zither).
Chinese pop music has been imitating the West for decades.
But such musicians as Jay Chou later began creating songs with classical Chinese elements.
Chou’s 2003 Dongfengpo (East Wind Breaks), which was awarded the most popular song in Hong Kong and Taiwan by Beijing Pop Music Awards (formerly known as Chinese Music Radio Awards), mixes modern and ancient Chinese language in its lyrics, which were written by Fang Wenshan.
Nine years later, the first extended-play album of a female pop group, SevenSense, surpassed a million hits online.
A later video of the members dancing in a studio led to imitations. Their song Yongchun (Ode to Spring) is still one of China’s most popular zhaiwu soundtracks.
Zhaiwu vloggers Xisi and Wanxiangyu have each received over 700,000 views on the video site Bilibili.
A song named Jimingyue (Sing My Love to the Moon) by SING girl group has overwhelmed fans of ancient Chinese culture and zhaiwu. It received nearly 3 million views on Bilibili, and around 2 million hits and roughly 2,500 comments on another social media platform since October.
It was warmly received by people from around the world.
Many said they couldn’t understand the lyrics but appreciated the music, costumes and instruments.
So, to an extent, the initially Japanese trend’s Chinese incarnation is now going global as part of the increasingly international dance craze.